Doing-business Environment Assessment of Prefecture-level Cities in China based on Input-output: Logical Structure, Difference Comparison and Benchmark Analysis

This paper analyzes the doing-business environment (DBE) at prefecture-level city in China. Based on the input-process-output (IPO) thought of system theory, this study uses Porter Diamond Model and International Institute for Management Development (IMD) regional competitiveness model to construct the China City Doing-business Environment Index (CCDBEI) from five aspects: Factor Supply Index (FSI), Environmental Attraction Index (EAI), Demand Pull Index (DPI), Industrial Security Index (ISI) and Output Influence Index (OII). The weight of single index was calculated by entropy method, and the DBE quality of 289 prefecture-level cities in China was evaluated by correlation coefficient method on the basis of considering the logical relationship of secondary indexes. The evaluation results show that the overall quality of DBE in China is gradually improving, but the regional differences are significant, and the best region was always East China, the worst were in the Northwest and Northeast. Location analysis shows that the quality of DBE is closely related to regional development strategy. Furthermore, the advantages of DBE in different regions are also different. In addition, it is found that DBE quality and balance do not develop synchronously. The study provides guidance for further optimization of DBE in cities.